Father Emmanuel’s Weekly Homily
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12 / 15 / 24
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THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT HOMILY My dearly beloved in Christ, there lies the good news: God does not require us to do whatever is impossible for us to do. He wants us to be nice where we are. Zephaniah found joy even in his difficult moments. Paul invited his audience to rejoice even while he was in prison. John the Baptist helped his listeners understand how they could make heaven without changing jobs. So, we also have every reason to rejoice amid the changes and chances of this life, and we have no excuse to remain in sin. |
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12 / 8 / 24
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SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT HOMILY Today, on this Second Sunday of Advent, John the Baptist invites us to the desert to prepare for the arrival of Jesus Christ, who will come at Christmas to help us in our journey through the desert. Yes, the desert is a place of lack, a place of insufficient resources, and a place in need. If we come to God full of ourselves, we become empty of God, but if we come to God empty of ourselves, God fills us up with himself. God did not create anyone to be self-sufficient. We need God, and we need one another. May our trust in God never put us to shame amid the changes and chances of this life until we come to our heavenly inheritance through Christ our Lord. Amen. |
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12 / 1 / 24
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FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT Jesus is coming at Christmas as an infant, very delicate. You make him smile when you show love to your neighbor, and you make him cry when you don’t. And so, I ask: will you make him smile or will you make him cry? The choice is yours! |
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11 / 24 / 24
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SOLEMNITY OF CHRIST THE KING My Dearly Beloved in Christ, as we end of this Liturgical Year, let us look back and see any areas in our lives where we did not give Christ the space to reign. In this coming year, let us entrust all that we are and have to him, for it is in him that we have the assurance of everlasting victory and peace. |
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11 / 17 / 24
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THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME Let us pray that the word of God may be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path until we come to our heavenly inheritance through Christ our Lord. Amen. |
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11 / 10 / 24
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THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME In our celebration of the Mass, Let us pray that God may “accept the sacrifices [we present on the altar] for the praise and glory of his name; for our good and the good of all his holy Church.” Amen. |
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11 / 3 / 24
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THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME My dear friends, are you still searching for God? Have you found God? Now you know where God is: in your wife, your husband, your child, your sibling, your parent, your in-law, your extended family member, your co-worker, your teacher, your student, the other human being, even the one you find difficult to understand; yes, God is there. Do not go any further, and I assure you, you will not be disappointed. |
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10 / 27 / 24
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THIRTIETH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME My Dearly Beloved in Christ, I don’t know what you are going through now. I have no idea of the kind of blindness you are experiencing, and I do not know the number and nature of bullies serving as obstacles on your way to receiving your blessing. Remember, if you stop to throw stones at every dog that barks at you, you will never get to your destination. Know who you want, know what you want, and never argue with anyone until you arrive; it is then your results will speak for you. |
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10 / 20 / 24
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TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME My dearly beloved in Christ, we are Christians, it is a full package, it is a full experience; we must not delay our glory until the end; let us enjoy the entire journey. If you have any good to do, just do it, and be sure that your fulfillment comes first from the service you render. Let this message inspire you to find joy in your service. |
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10 / 13 / 24
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TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME If anything is good about us, we must channel the glory to God. Remember, it is not your responsibility to prove yourself; your responsibility is to improve yourself relying on the grace of God. |
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10 / 6 / 24
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TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME My dearly beloved in Christ, we can never resolve any crisis until we are ready to go beyond the surface; we cannot solve the world’s problems until we are ready to go back to the root, that is, until we are able to find out at what point we deviated from God’s original plan. As we continue on our journey through life, as we continue to struggle with the different questions that life throws at us, may the word of God continue to be a lamp to our feet, and a light to our path, guiding us back to God’s original plan, until we come to our heavenly inheritance, through Christ our Lord Amen. |
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9 / 29 / 24
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TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME If we invest in what is permanent, then we will have no cause to fear the passing nature of this life. Let us use time to purchase eternity, use perishable things to gain that which lasts forever, and we must not make any permanent decision based on any temporary emotion. And remember the words of Jesus himself, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness and all other things will be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33). |
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9 / 22 / 24
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TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME My dearly beloved in Christ, the desire to be better than the other person, which eventually grows into the desire to be the only one on the stage, is self-destructive. If you do not wish for your neighbors to be successful, the day you will need the help of a successful person, there may be none in your neighborhood. In his acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reflected on the fragility and complexity of the world’s situation and said, “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” |
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9 / 15 / 24
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TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME My dearly beloved in Christ, never forget that you have been blessed to bless others; you have not been blessed to detach yourself from God and others. |
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9 / 8 / 24
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TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME My dearly beloved in Christ, today, Jesus has opened the ears of the deaf and the mouth of the speech impaired. Let us invite him to open our ears to hear who the Messiah is and our mouths to proclaim the Messiah to the world as he truly is. But should Jesus be worried about revealing his identity to you as the Messiah? Who is the Messiah to you? Is he a weapon that you use against your enemies? Is he an emergency number you call only when you are in trouble? Is he a spare tire you remember when you have exhausted all other options? Who is the Messiah to you? Would you let him introduce himself to you, or would you prefer to hold on to your self-made notion of him? The choice is yours. |
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9 / 1 / 24
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TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME My dearly beloved in Christ, today’s response from Jesus is not an attempt to condemn orderliness in religion; it is not an invitation to disobedience. Another way to understand Jesus here is, “The Law is made for human beings and not human beings for the Law.” Before you judge the other person, measure your love. If half the energy we put into judging and condemning others goes into loving them, the world would be a better place, we would live a happier life, and then we can truly say, “The kingdom of God has truly come.” |
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8 / 25 / 24
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TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME My dearly beloved in Christ, as Christians, we say “Yes” to God. But life is not stagnant. We go through life with many ups and downs. Each change in life invites a reexamination of our fundamental “Yes” to God. I have no idea what you are facing now, but I would like to ask, “Considering your current situation, are you still fully, wholly, and entirely for Christ?” |
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8 / 18 / 24
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TWENTIETH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME My dearly beloved in Christ, if we believe that Jesus is God and God is all-powerful, it makes no sense to question Jesus when he plainly tells us that he is really present in the Holy Eucharist. We have the Church’s greatest treasure in the Holy Eucharist; you have it, you have all. May the receiving of the Body and Blood of Christ bring us to everlasting life. Amen. |
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8 / 11 / 24
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NINETEENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME Our God is all-powerful; nothing is beyond his power. The packaging does not limit him. He chooses to reveal himself and to present himself to us whenever, wherever, and however he wishes; it is not for us to dictate. My dearly beloved in Christ, as we continue to reflect on the Gospel of John 6, let us pray that the Holy Spirit may enlighten us to keep recognizing God wherever, whenever, and however he chooses to reveal himself to us until we come to our heavenly inheritance, through Christ our Lord. Amen. |
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8 / 4 / 24
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EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME Yes, Jesus has not come to change stones to bread magically, he has not come to provide free dinner for us, and he has not come to keep us on earth forever. He wants us to understand the deeper meaning of the signs he worked. He wants us to reason beyond our stomachs to our souls. We must not let the beauty of the road make us forget our destination. In common parlance, “When a wise man points at the sun for the foolish man to see, the foolish man will end up looking at the wise man’s finger.” Let us look beyond the miracles to what they represent. May God grant us wisdom that we may inherit eternal life through Christ our Lord. Amen. |